Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students who have not achieved at least a C grade in English and mathematics GCSE will be required to resit those exams as many times as it takes them to achieve that grade.

    Robert Halfon

    Departmental funding rules require full time students with prior attainment of a D to work towards achieving a C grade or higher in GCSE English and maths. Students who achieve lower than a D grade at 16 may study other qualifications such as Functional Skills as a ‘stepping stone’ towards GCSE.

    For those opting to retake their GCSE(s) or being required to do so due to having previously attained a grade D, there is no requirement for them to repeatedly re-sit the GCSE exam. Schools and colleges have the freedom to determine when a student is ready to re-sit their GCSE. This is because our 16-19 English and maths requirements relates to enrolments rather than exam entries. This provides a school or college the flexibility to determine when best for a student to be entered for and sit an exam. For some students that might be the following November, while other students may require

    a year, or two years study and tuition before they are ready to re-sit the exam.

    If students resit their GCSE part way through their programme and fail to gain a grade C then they are expected to continue studying for the GCSE.

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Attorney General, whether the Serious Fraud Office is undertaking an investigation into defeat devices used by Volkswagen in emissions tests.

    Jeremy Wright

    As and when matters are brought to the attention of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) they are assessed in the context of the SFO’s remit to investigate fraud, bribery and corruption. If appropriate, relevant matters will be considered for criminal investigation in line with SFO internal procedures. The SFO does not comment on its assessments or their status at any one time but does publish on its website details of those cases formally adopted for criminal investigation, when this is possible without prejudice to the investigation.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether local healthwatches are meeting Healthwatch England’s mission to be a consumer champion, in the light of reports that some contractors and local authorities refuse to engage with the public in their area.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department currently has no plans to undertake an investigation in to the performance of local Healthwatch organisations. In March 2015 the Department published a report commissioned from the King’s Fund – Local Healthwatch: Progress and promise – which set out the progress that local Healthwatch have made since being established in 2013. Transparency about the performance of local Healthwatch organisations is provided through the annual reports which they are required to publish. Reports on how the local Healthwatch network as a whole is operating and the nature of the support needed to deliver their activities effectively are discussed at quarterly public meetings of the Healthwatch England Committee.

    Arrangements for ensuring local Healthwatch statutory activities are delivered in each area are a matter for local authorities. The Local Government Association has published guidance to support local Healthwatch and local commissioners in putting in place good governance arrangements, which includes clarity about the roles of all parties involved.

    Neither the Department nor Healthwatch England are aware of local Healthwatch contractors refusing to engage with the public in their area. Where Healthwatch England is made aware of concerns in relation to local Healthwatch around governance or local relationships with specific individuals or organisations, it seeks to provide support to resolve these where appropriate. Members of the public are able to raise concerns though the complaints process of the local Healthwatch or the commissioning local authority.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual maintenance spend by the (a) Royal Navy, (b) British Army and (c) Royal Air Force has been in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Annual maintenance spend, on equipment support and property management, is not recorded by individual arm of Service. This is because our Armed Services operate as integrated joint organisations in which the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force work together and share land, buildings, facilities and equipment.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations her Department has made to its contractors for the provision of asylum support services on potential breaches of contract by those contractors.

    James Brokenshire

    All Home Office contracts include performance standards, which are defined in the contract. These are the primary way in which the Home Office manages service delivery of the contracts.

    The Home Office has a rigorous contract compliance regime in place to ensure that the required performance standards expected of all providers, as defined in the contracts, are met. This includes monthly contract management and quarterly strategic review meetings, as well as regular daily discussions with COMPASS providers’ operational delivery managers about day to day issues.The Home Office investigates complaints it receives from service users and third parties and works with contractors to ensure that any issues raised are addressed promptly.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office Health and Wellbeing Strategy was launched in February 2015. This sets out three key aims: that every member of staff understands that their health and wellbeing matters; that health and wellbeing is at the centre of change and learning and development programmes and that structural, cultural and demographic factors affecting attendance in the workplace are identified and addressed as appropriate. The strategy is underpinned by a range of modern HR policies and practical advice and services to enhance and promote health and wellbeing such as the employee assistance programme and occupational health services. We also support groups such as ‘Break the Stigma’ and other national mental health campaigns.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which companies have failed to pay the national minimum wage since the introduction of the new naming and shaming regulations on 1 October 2013.

    Nick Boles

    Since the introduction of the revised naming and shaming scheme, details of employers who have failed to pay the National Minimum Wage have been published on gov.uk. Details can be found via the following links:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed-february-2016

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed-october-2015

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed (July 2015)

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed (March 2015)

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-and-shames-largest-ever-number-of-national-minimum-wage-offenders (February 2015)

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-and-shames-37-national-minimum-wage-offenders (January 2015)

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-employers-who-fail-to-pay-the-national-minimum-wage (November 2014)

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-employers-who-fail-to-pay-minimum-wage (June 2014)

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-gets-tough-with-employers-failing-to-pay-minimum-wage (February 2014)

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  • Lord Jopling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    Lord Jopling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Leader of the House what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Cabinet Office with regard to the number of Questions for Written Answer not answered within 10 working days.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    My responsibility as Leader of the House, to encourage Ministers to be punctual in answering written questions, is one I take seriously. My office immediately approach departments who have not responded to questions after 10 working days, and remain in contact with them until the questions are answered. This process was followed with the Cabinet Office for the seven questions that remained unanswered after 10 working days on 18 March. All of those questions have now been answered. At the end of this Session I will publish data on each department’s promptness in dealing with Questions for Written Answer to allow for proper scrutiny of their performance.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Kenyan government on the closure of the Dadaab refugee camp.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The Secretary of State for International Development, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) discussed the announcement about the Dadaab refugee camp with Kenya at the World Humanitarian Summit on 25 May.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the level of potential savings to NHS budgets were the targets set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy to be met.

    Andrew Jones

    We have published a report commissioned on the health benefits of active travel “Claiming the Health Dividend: A summary and discussion of value for money estimates from studies of investment in walking and cycling” https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/371096/claiming_the_health_dividend.pdf.

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